Muslim child punished for refusing to sing Sanskrit ‘shlokas’ in Bengaluru school

In a deplorable incident in south Bengaluru, a 15-year-old was punished by his school principal for not singing a few Sanskrit shlokas in a prayer.

The principal of the school noticed that the boy and his friends were not singing the shlokas in the school assembly and called the group on the stage to sing it.

“I was humiliated in front of 1,200 students and my constitutional right was violated. She made us go on stage and forced us to sing the prayer in front of everybody. She scolded me in front of everyone on the mike when I mispronounced a few Sanskrit words,” the boy was quoted as saying.

When the boy’s mother along with a few activists tried to file a complaint at the principal’s office, she acted like she did not know what the fuss was about. The principal kept insisting that the prayer was important to instil values and discipline in students.

The principal even went on to suggest that the boy was turning himself into a typical fundamental Muslim from Bhatkal, a Muslim-dominated area in Karnataka.

Although the boy has now been allowed to sit in class during assembly period, he is still not happy.

Around 14 of 32 students in the boy’s class are Muslims along with 30 percent of the total school students. The student is reportedly also the head boy of the school. He, however, added that many of his Hindu friends are supporting him in his cause.

The principal, Padmaja Menon, however, had this to say as an argument: “But Brahma is the creator of the universe. What is wrong in invoking his name?”

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